Pub Date Housecleaning!

March 28, 2006

Dear Kay,
I’m feeling so eggcited–it’s our publication date! I never had a pub date before, except for that one beer with that creepy assistant back in 1985.
Cleaning out the basement this morning, I found this pile of subtitles. We just about killed ourselves coming up with a subtitle. Anybody who needs a subtitle, feel free to help yourself!
Do It Yourself Handknits
Dream It Make It Love It
Look Ma! No Pattern!
Eyes Wide Shut (just seeing if you’re paying attention)
Self-Help For Creative Geniuses Like….You!
Better Living Through Handknits
The Fabulous Handknit Lifestyle
My Knitting’s OK, Your Knitting’s OK
My Knitting’s OK, Yours? Not So Hot
Did You Know You’re Brilliant?
You’re a Creative Genius–Who Knew?
The Rainbow Connection (The Knitter, the Dreamer and you)
The Manolo Says The Mason-Dixon Knitting Is Fabulous Darling
Pioneer Women With Blogphones
Knit Yourself a Life
Lively Knitting For Chatty Housewives
What’s Up With Handknits
Up With Handknits
It Takes a Village (to Make a Blanket)
Tales from the Fascinating Knitblog Subculture
Blog Wars
Amstels, Cheetos, and Knitting Genius
If Thelma and Louise Were Knitters
Get In With The In Crowd
Everybody’s Knits
Chatty Knits
Blabby Knits
We Talk About Knitting Endlessly
More About Us
Self-Made Knits
How To Knit Like a Creative Genius
Dee-liteful Knits
Fun Stuff To Knit While Watching TV and Pretending To Listen To Your
Husband
Knit as if Your Life Depended on It
Family Knits
Over the Top Knits
Homey Cozy Darling Knits
Awwwww! Knits
How Cute Is THAT? Knits
You CAN Make This Stuff Up
Homemade Knits
Home Cooked Knits
Cook Up Your Own Knits
Half-Baked Knits
Oven-Fresh Knits
Poppin’ Fresh Knits
Handknits as an Alternative To Adultery
Recipes for Homecooked Knits
Mason-Dixon Knitting: Free Your Inner Creative Genius
Mason-Dixon Knitting: Women on the Verge of Creative Genius
Mason-Dixon Knitting: Blow Your Mind with Your Own Creative Genius
Mason-Dixon Knitting: Knitting Below Your Skill Level
Mason-Dixon Knitting: How to Blow Your Own Mind
Mason-Dixon Knitting: Inside the Grotto of Your Brilliant Mind
Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Cul de Sac of Creative Genius
Mason-Dixon Knitting: In Search of Pure Stinkin’ Genius
Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Age of Aquarius
Mason-Dixon Knitting: Percolating the Beautiful
Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Stew of Creative Genius
Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Bouillabaisse of Creative Genius
Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Gumbo of Creative Genius
Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Burgoo of Creative Genius
Mason-Dixon Knitting: Smooching Your Inner Genius
Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Big Book of Fabulous Creative Genius
Mason-Dixon Knitting: Lovin’ the Lifestyle
Mason-Dixon Knitting: Living Large
Mason-Dixon Knitting: In Which the Party Is Started
Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Only Guide You’ll Ever Need
Mason-Dixon Knitting: Love, Freedom, and the Joy of Knitting
The Remembrance of Things Knitted
You Knit, You Love, You Rip It Out
On the Verge of Creative Genius
The Days of Our Yarns
Creative Genius: A How-to Guide
A Guide for the Modest Creative Genius
Patterns, Talk, and Lush Deluxe Photos Galore
A Why-to Guide
Blow Your Mind with Your Own Creative Genius
Your Guide to Free-Thinking Handknits
Knitting Below Your Skill Level
Jumping Off the Cliff of Creative Genius
Bombs Away!
The Complex World of EZ Knitting
Happy Sappy Wabi Sabi
Your Best Knitting Now (ripping off any issue of Glamour/Cosmo)
The Workbasket of Creative Genius
A Salon of Knitterly Goodness
Inside the Sordid World of Knitting Fixation
The Seamy Underside of Seaming Undersides
Kay and Ann Explain It All for You
Dude, Where’s My Needle?
Inside the High-Fiber Lifestyle
Living the Life of Reilly
It’s All Good
It Is What It Is
Pix, Laffs, and Sunshiney Goodness
There are bunch more, needless to say, but these were the really good ones.
Love,
Ann

Congratulations!
I only came up with one alternative subtitle for my book and for some reason the publisher didn’t like it:
“If One More Person Asks Me Why I Don’t Knit Arans in the Round, I Will Commit Murder”

LOL – “If Thelma and Louise were knitters…”
That would make the book fly off the cliff – uh shelf!
Congratulations on your publication date.
As SOON as the book hits our LYS we’re going to have a party.
The blessings of hard work but mostly loving friendship are spreading across LYS everywhere.

Congratulations! I’ve previewed the book obsessively at Sheila’s shop and there is so, so much I want to make in there. Also, the book wins, hands-down, the Oscar for “best knitting book design.” The typography! The colors! The photos! It’s brilliant.
I absolutely love every single bit of it. Well-played, ladies!

You say it’s your Pub Day??? Nananananana…
I’ve been obsessively checking Amazon’s rankings and reading the Harlot’s Wurd on the Street, so it might as well be my Pub Day, too.
Can’t wait to see you guys in Birmingham, er, I mean, Helena, the REAL Cul de Sac of Creative Genius.

Congrats on Pub Day!
My favorite alternate subtitle: Mason-Dixon Knitting: Knitting Below Your Skill Level
Everytime I go to my LYS (Loop in Philly) I pick up Craig’s copy and just ooh and ahh over it. I can’t wait to have my very own signed copy next week!!! See you in Philly!

mazel tov to both of you.
my personal gush comes out with the new issue.

Amy M.
March 28, 2006 at 12:33 pm

Congratulations on a fantastic book! I was up late last night, poring over the stories and beautiful projects. I actually had to stop myself; I didn’t want to gobble it all up in one take! Now I need to go – I’ve got a hankerin’ for some linen yarn. I also need to get back to my daydream about which colors I would use for my own log cabin blanket. Thanks for the inspiration!

Toni - from IN
March 28, 2006 at 12:41 pm

I just saw the pictures and review on the YarnHarlot’s blog. I love the picture of the bassinet liner. Especially since I’m more than ready to become a great-aunt (even if my nephews & nieces aren’t quite as ready to make me one!). Anyway, congratulations, I definitely have added your book to my plan to buy list.

*sniff* I’m so proud of youse two. I love each and every one of your subtitles better than the one before. But I have to say this is the one that really stuck as my first love, so I kept comin’ back to it:
My Knitting’s OK, Yours? Not So Hot
Mwah!

Kymm
March 28, 2006 at 1:00 pm

Happy pub day! What a thrill it’ll be to walk into the bookstore or the LYS and see your book there! I’m hitting the bookstore on my way in to work–and I’m guessing not much work will be done. Good thing I work alone, eh?
On the subtitles–sweetheart, put them back in the basement.

Hilarious! Now I reeeeeaaaaaaally can’t wait to get my hands on the book!

Stephanie B.
March 28, 2006 at 1:30 pm

Fun Stuff To Knit While Watching TV and Pretending To Listen To Your
Husband has to be my favourite–and I’ve definitely been caught. But I can’t wait to see the book. These made me laugh until I cried.

I am (even as I type) on hold with my local Barnes and Noble asking them to hold their only copy for me. She said the had 8 this morning!
Congratulations to both you! I’m counting the minutes until you announce a visit to the west coast!

Bex
March 28, 2006 at 5:43 pm

Congratulations on your publication date!
I love to read through other people’s brainstorming lists. Your subtitle list has a similar rhythm to it as the list we (my dance company) created entitled “what to name the show”. My favorite from your list was “Amstels, Cheetos, and Knitting Genius” mostly because of how much it sounds like the show-name that I had a soft spot for: “3 Bottles of wine and a box of Pad Thai” (which is what we consumed while trying desperately to think of a $%!$% name)
But I think you guys did best in your final selection. As, I think, we did by choosing “Unspoken Conversations” (much more professional)
Congrats again!!

Emma
March 28, 2006 at 5:43 pm

Look at that Amazon.com sales rank…#60 in books as I type this. Congrats!

Gina
March 28, 2006 at 5:45 pm

Congrats! Just ordered two copies. One for me and one for my wonderful sister. She said…Did you read the Harlot today? Those two that wrote the book sound so cute just like us!! How could I NOT order two!!

jesus h christ. Hell on the attention span. But I’m still going to buy the book.
thanks for being y’all — t

susan
March 28, 2006 at 8:19 pm

I just ordered it…can’t wait. Congratulations!

Cristina
March 28, 2006 at 8:19 pm

The Remembrance of Things Knitted! How I shrieked! Does that mean there will be seven volumes? Hooray! I’ll be sure to make madeleines sprinkled with ultrabright orange cheese dust for your (first) Phila appearance.

I ordered y’all’s book today. Look forward to reading on my spring break at the beach!

Jinxsa
March 28, 2006 at 9:14 pm

Wow I looked in my inbox and I got a letter from a celebrity. Thanks for the thanks Ann.
Sadly as predicted the yarn/net thing didn’t work. Order online and plastic seem like cheating but must have bookie-goodness. Also, did you see the review in Vouge Knitting? You both are totally celebrities now. I’ed so ask for you autograph if you were ahead of me in an express checkout buying embarrasing items (please note I’ed still count the items at least until the Mason Dixon Knitting Movie came out, sorry.)
Enjoy the very coolness of the ride!
Jinxsa

Fun Stuff To Knit While Watching TV and Pretending To Listen To Your
Husband
I do this all the time! And these too:
Fun Stuff To Knit While Riding On The Bus with Your Husband and Pretending To Listen To Him
Fun Stuff To Knit While Pretending To Play With Your Children
I can’t wait for your book to arrive! Congrats to you two again!

Okay, I just about peed in my pants, thank you very much! I ordered as many copies of the book as they would allow me to get for the shop today! Congrats.
xoxoxoxoxo

Alyson
March 29, 2006 at 2:07 am

Ann and Kay – LOVE the new book. I really don’t know where to start first. The rag rug, the hand towels (which really look chic) or the chemise and robe…Here’s hoping this is only the beginning of much success!

Congratulations! It’s so wonderful to see all the buzz your book is creating and I can’t wait to get it.
It’s odd that having read your blog all this time makes it feel as if I’m a part of the book, but I guess it’s like watching something grow–when you really believe in something and get to see it reach fruition you feel like a part of the process….I always knew you two had something special!

My very many congrats. I just ordered the baby from Amazon and can’t wait for her to get here!

Fran
March 29, 2006 at 11:40 am

I stopped by my friendly, neighborhood Big Box Bookstore this morning merely to eyeball the book, intending to make the purchase the next time I had a coupon from said establishment. But I couldn’t take my hands off it! It is beautiful and highly satisfying fiber porn. Great job!

While running errands last night I stopped in at the local Barnes & Noble on pretty much a wing and a prayer.
Shocked SHOCKED to say I was able to snag your book as well as the Harlot’s new one.
Now that’s pretty impressive for Waterloo IOWA.
Congrats can’t wait to read the rest!

Wow, Congratulations!!! I’ve heard lots of good stuff about your book and can’t wait to buy it (although I’ll have to as I am on a restricted budget at the moment). Never the less, was sorely tempted today, especially after I had a look at the preview. Congratulations again, love the subtittles-too funny!!
Wish yoour book tour passed through Calgary–guess it’s a little out of the way.

Oh my God, Martin & I went through this exact same subtitle game when we wrote our book. The really awful ones are the most fun. We still talk about them 5 years later.
Congratulations! What a great day. And a great review you got on Stephanie’s site.

Happy book B-day! My copy is (hopefully) winging its way to me from Amazon. I saw a copy (to borrow a Stephanie phrase) “in the wild” today but didn’t allow myself to even crack it open. I want to enjoy my OWN copy! Hoping to see you in KC in May!

carolyn m
March 29, 2006 at 6:13 pm

thrilled to have your book in my paws! a masterpiece….every page an absolute gem!

Oh, this is definitely my favorite: “My Knitting’s OK, Yours? Not So Hot!”
But the mind boggles at the fact that you typed ALL of those in–are you kidding me? What loyalty to your fans. What perserverence. What were you thinking?

Hi, i’ve been reading without commenting for too long, but I bought Mason-Dixon Knitting from Loop in london yesterday and i had to write and tell you both that it is the best knitting book i’ve read this year. hell, this AND last year!
i’ve laughed, and been incredibly inspired, and i just can’t stop reading it.
i hope you are both very proud of what you have achieved, because it really is brilliant.
Well done!

Debbie Levinson
March 30, 2006 at 3:33 pm

Dear Ann and Kay,
Amazon sent me the best present ever today. I love the book!

What a list! I was laughing out loud at some of them! Looking forward to getting my copy, as well as seeing you when you are in DC! I have three venues to choose from – how exciting!
Maybe you can work a little orange or yellow in your outfit for Project Spectrum? hehe

Bev
March 30, 2006 at 4:47 pm

The book is fabulous!! Congratulations. I am savoring every page.

carolyn H in CT
March 30, 2006 at 6:14 pm

Ann and Kay: thank you thank you so much for a wonderful book. it just arrived from Amazon and i’m savoring it. I’ve made it to pg 42, skimming, wanting it to last. It is really amazing. Visually, just spectacular, the style of writing is right up my alley. love the cocky, tongue in cheek, yet hey, knitting is my life, attitude. I, too, have just about all of the knitting books. This one deserves to be on the top of the stack….gotta go feed the family and dive back in. I guess it’s reading night, the sweater-in-progress will keep for now. P.S. I’ll be ordering some linen, I want the Outward Bound experience! Best to you both! Carolyn

carolynH in CT
March 30, 2006 at 6:20 pm

Oh yeah, I see a lot of Mason*Dixon-isms flying through the internet waves in the days ahead…..ch

CCM
March 30, 2006 at 10:24 pm

Hi, I’d never heard of you before, but I work in a bookstore. We got your book the other day, I looked through it (okay, I inspected every pattern and read half the text while “working”), and I’m completely in love. Good job. This may be the best walk-beginners-through-patterns book I’ve seen. Mostly because every pattern is wonderful; I’ve decided that what I really want is to curl up in a corner and knit bath mats and hand towels until people are better at being nice to each other.

Ruth Anne
April 2, 2006 at 5:19 pm

My book arrived from Amazon this week and today I finally had time to sit down and really look at it. What a truly wonderful book! I want to make almost everything, which is truly a problem since I already have more projects on my “to do” list than I can complete if I knitted 24 hours a day for the rest of my life. I did immediately run upstairs to my stash of dishcloth yarn which I haven’t touched in ages and started a slip stitch dishcloth, and I simply must start a mitered blanket soon. Great job on the book!

Lex
April 4, 2006 at 2:26 am

So hilarious! I love “The Seamy Underside of Seaming Undersides” and “Blow Your Mind with Your Own Creative Genius” the bestest. Can’t wait to pick up a copy!